Automatically Preparing Streaming Video Programming Guides

ABSTRACT

A programming guide for streaming video files may be automatically compiled in response to a user request. The user may provide keywords for categories of streaming video files that are of interest. A graphical user interface is automatically developed which splits responsive streaming video files into categories requested by the user. Each streaming video file may be represented in a user selected fashion. For example, the streaming videos may be represented by a representative frame, title or other information. The user can then click on any of the streaming video files, broken down into the appropriate categories, to begin viewing a streaming video file of interest.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/895,710, filed on Aug. 27, 2007 which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/583,703, filed on May 31, 2000, whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,281,220.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to streaming video available fordownload over the Internet.

A variety of streaming video formats are available for Internetdownload. Streaming video is video that may begin playback before beingcompletely downloaded. Streaming video reduces the amount of time theuser must wait before beginning to enjoy the media. Common streamingvideo formats include Real Networks, real video format, file extension.ram and Microsoft's Media Player format, file extension .ast. Generallythe streaming media is played through a browser plug-in which may alsobe downloaded.

Because of the ease in preparing streaming videos and making themavailable over the Internet, an increasing number of streaming videosare available from a wide variety of sources. As a result there are alarge number of streaming videos and a correspondingly large number ofvideo sources, many of whom may be unrecognized. This proliferationmakes it difficult for users to identify available streaming videos thatare of interest. For example, while one may enjoy streaming videos on aparticular topic, there is no way for the user to know when a particularstreaming video on that topic is available.

Thus, there is a need for better ways to facilitate the viewing ofstreaming video.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a graphical user interface in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for software in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for software in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a hardware implementation of oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for hardware in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a streaming video programming guide may beimplemented as a graphical user interface 22 displayed on a monitor ortelevision screen associated with a processor-based system. Thestreaming video programming guide may arrange, for selection andviewing, a plurality of representation of streaming video files. Thesestreaming video files are collected automatically by a search enginethat automatically and periodically searches the Internet. The user mayprovide a plurality of categories of topical interest to the user. Thesearch engine then searches the Internet for streaming video file ofinterest to a user, for example by using keyword searching.

When appropriate streaming video files that satisfy the criteria set bythe user are located, those video files may be identified in thegraphical user interface 22 using video thumbnail frames 18, titles 23,and other information 20, 24, 26, 28 and 29 culled from the web siteoffering the streaming video file for downloading. All of thisinformation may be displayed in a chart format as shown in FIG. 1 forselection by the user.

More specifically, the user may select video files for viewing in avariety of different categories. The user may also input keywords thatare utilized by a search engine to assemble the graphical user interface22. For example, in the illustration in FIG. 1, the user has providedthe keywords “current news”, “sports”, and “Celine Dion” as topics ofinterest for viewing streaming videos. In the organization shown in FIG.1, each of the topics or category icons 16 identify a series of threestreaming video files that are responsive to the user-provided keywords.Thus, each responsive streaming video file may be represented by athumbnail frame 18, a title 23 or other descriptive material 20, as wellas the type of the file extension 26, the web site sponsoring thestreaming video as indicated at 28, and the available connection speed29. In addition, quantitative information 24 about the streaming videomay be provided. In the case of the streaming video represented by thethumbnail frame 18, the video file is in a 240×180 pixel format andlasts for twenty-eight seconds.

Sufficient information is provided about each of the identifiedstreaming video files to allow the user to determine whether or not theuser wishes to view the material. Based on the thumbnail frame 18, thetitle 23, the length and the file extension 26, the user may decidewhether or not to view the material. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the user can simply click on any of the identified itemsincluding the thumbnail frame 18 and the title 23 to automatically playthe video file in place of the graphical user interface 22. In addition,in some embodiments of the present invention, a video file may be playedinitially within the thumbnail frame 18.

If the user finds that none of the depicted set of video files in agiven category is of interest, the user can click on the category icon16 to display the next series of video files in place of the currentlydisplayed video files. Moreover, in some embodiments of the presentinvention, if the user clicks on the category icon 16, the entireinterface 22 may be converted to a display of video files pertinent tothat category. Thus, if the user mouse clicks on the sports icon 16, thecurrent news and Celine Dion video files may be removed from thegraphical user interface 22 and replaced with additional video files inthe sports category.

Generally, the streaming video files are provided by web sites that alsoprovide descriptions of those video files. The descriptions may includetextual material about the particular streaming video files. Inaddition, descriptive metatags may be provided. Finally, the searchengine may search for the particular file extensions associated withstreaming video files such as .ram and .ast.

The user can also limit the search done by the search engine to videofiles in a particular language as indicated by the icon 12. The user caninput the desired language using a selection box associated with theicon 12. In addition, the user can limit the search for video files to agiven location. In such case, the search engine may search forinformation in textual form associated with the streaming video filesthat provide information sufficient to determine the location involved.For example, the textual material accompanying the video may identifykey words representative of a given location, such as zip codes, statenames or other geographical information.

The search engine may search for a combination of file extensions andkey words that correspond to streaming video files having the contentrequested by the user. The information may then be parsed into thecategories as requested by the user, such as the current news, sportsand Celine Dion category icons 16 in the illustrative graphical userinterface 22.

In a compile mode, the search engine may search for video files, asdescribed above, using the software 32 in one embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG. 2. The compile mode may occur at regularintervals so that the search engine periodically searches for the videosin the desired categories. Alternatively, the search may be conducted atthe time when the user selects the streaming video programming guide.

The search engine searches for video files and related keywords,metatags, connection speeds and file extensions as indicated in block34. Any responsive video files are then categorized based on key wordsas indicated in block 36. The video files are then organized accordingto categories as indicated in block 38. Finally, the graphical userinterface 22 is displayed with representations of each of the videofiles that were located, organized in a grid format as depicted forexample in FIG. 1 and as indicated in block 40 in FIG. 2.

The user may select the video for viewing by mouse clicking on its title20 or thumbnail frame 18. In addition, the user can link to the web siteoffering the video by clicking on the web site uniform resource locator28.

In a set-up mode implemented by software 82 in one embodiment, the usercan specify the search criteria for the compiled software 32 asindicated in FIG. 3. The user may specify the file formats as indicatedin block 84. For example, the software 82 may provide a graphical userinterface that asks the user to input a streaming video file format suchas .ram or .ast or to search for all file formats.

Next, the user is asked to specify topical keywords as indicated inblock 86. The topical keywords then become the category icons 16 in theresulting graphical user interface 22. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the user may provide an overall keyword that becomes thecategory icon 16 and may also provide additional keywords to furtherrefine the search to obtain the material that the user in fact isactually interested in.

The user may also specify a minimum connection speed as indicated inblock 89. Some users may prefer not to view files from sites with slowconnection speeds. Also, the user may input the user's connection speedso that the file with the corresponding connection speed may beautomatically selected if available.

Next, the user is called upon to set tags as indicated in block 88. Thetags may be information about particular items of interest to the user.For example, the user may only be interested in getting information onparticular web sites, information of a specific duration, or informationprovided by specific types of sources that may be provided for exampleby metatags.

Next, the user is called upon to specify the language of the streamingvideo as indicated in block 90. Finally, the user may be asked tospecify a location that may be utilized in narrowing the search stillfurther. The user may provide states, cities, countries or zip codeswhich may be searched for by the engine to locate geographicallyrelevant material as indicated in block 92.

Once all the appropriate entries in the graphical user interface havebeen filled out, the information is automatically stored (block 94) forautomatic development of the graphical user interface 22 and toautomatically implement the desired search. That is, the search termsare plugged in as the category icon 16 titles.

The graphical user interface 22 shown in FIG. 1 may be used with avariety of processor-based systems including, but not limited to,desktop computers, laptop computers, appliances such as telephones andInternet appliances, and the like. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, shown in FIG. 4, the set-top box 42 may be coupled to atelevision receiver 136. The set-top box 42 conveniently sits atop thetelevision receiver 136—ergo, the name set-top box. The televisionreceiver 136 may include a display screen 138 that displays thegraphical user interface 22.

Both the set-top box 42 and the television receiver 136 include infraredinterfaces 134 and 140 respectively. A remote control unit 44 mayinclude its own infrared interface 45 for interacting and controllingthe television receiver 136 and the set-top box 42. Thus, inputsprovided through the remote control unit 44 may be provided over awireless interface, such as a radio frequency interface, to theinterfaces 134 and 140. The wireless signals appropriately control theset-top box 42 and the television receiver 136. The user can implementmouse-like cursor commands through the cursor controls 46 which includea plurality of directional buttons and a select button. In addition,channel entries may be entered through channel keys 48.

Referring next to FIG. 5, the set-top box 42 may include a processor 50coupled to a bridge 52. The bridge 52 couples a bus 56 and the systemmemory 54. Also coupled to the bus 56 are a display controller 64, atelevision tuner/capture card 62 and an additional bridge 58. Thedisplay controller 64 may be coupled to the television receiver 136. Thetelevision tuner/capture card 62 may be coupled to an appropriate sourceof video such as a broadcast antenna, a satellite receiver or a cableconnection.

The bridge 58 may be coupled to a hard disk drive (HDD) 60 that storesthe software 82 and 32. In addition, the hard disk drive 60 may includea database that stores information about the selected categories forsearch, search terms, and the information located in an appropriatesearch.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the search may be actuallyimplemented by the software 82 and 32 stored on the hard disk drive 60.In other embodiments, the search is actually implemented by a web serverthat is automatically called up over the Internet when the search isrequested.

The bridge 58 couples a bus 68. The bus 68 is coupled to a basicinput/output system (BIOS) 70 and the interface 134. The interface 134implements a wireless interface with an interface 45 associated with theremote control unit 44. The remote control unit 44 includes theinterface 45 and a controller 72 that receives keypad inputs andtranslates them into appropriate signals for transmission to theinterface 134.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this present invention.

1. A method comprising: selecting streaming video files from a pluralityof web sites based on a text search; based at least in part on the textsearch, automatically providing a graphical user interface includingselectable elements representing the selected streaming video files;providing information with each of the selectable elements to allow auser to determine whether to play the corresponding streaming videofile; and in response to a user selection of one of the selectableelements, playing the video file corresponding to the selected element.2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing information includesproviding descriptive information.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinproviding descriptive information includes providing a title and alength of the video file.
 4. The method of claim 1, including accessingsaid video file over the Internet in response to a user selection ofsaid video file.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providinga graphical user interface for the user to input a keyword.
 6. Acomputer storage medium storing instructions to: select streaming videofiles from a plurality of web sites based on a text search; based atleast in part on the text search, automatically provide a graphical userinterface including selectable elements representing the selectedstreaming video files; provide information with each of the selectableelements to allow a user to determine whether to play the correspondingstreaming video file; and in response to a user selection of one of theselectable elements, playing the video file corresponding to theselected element.
 7. The computer accessible medium of claim 6, whereinthe provided information is descriptive information.
 8. The computeraccessible medium of claim 7, wherein the descriptive informationincludes a title and a length of the video file.
 9. The computeraccessible medium of claim 6, further comprising instructions to providea graphical user interface for the user to input the selected categoryand the keyword.
 10. A system, comprising: a processor; and a storagecoupled to said processor, said storage storing instructions that enablethe processor to: select streaming video files from a plurality of websites based on a text search; based at least in part on the text search,provide a graphical user interface including selectable elementsrepresenting the selected streaming video files; provide informationwith each of the selectable elements to allow a user to determinewhether to play the corresponding streaming video file; and in responseto a user selection of one of the selectable elements, play the videofile corresponding to the selected element.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein said representations include a selectable thumbnail.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein said instructions enable the processor toprovide descriptive information with the thumbnail to allow a user todetermine whether to play the corresponding streaming video file. 13.The system of claim 10, further comprising a television display todisplay the graphical user interface, to display the representations ofsaid selected streaming video files, and to display the playing videofile.